Public Realm Engagement Karangahape Station From 30 September to 30 October, the Link Alliance ran a series of consultation sessions to get feedback on the public realm (Stage A) design for the Beresford Square Station entrance. We held 10 separate meetings with stakeholders and received feedback from more than 50 people. The feedback gathered has been invaluable to our designers and helps to ensure that the public realm area best serves the communities that will use it. Several common themes emerged, and whenever possible, these were incorporated into the updated ‘Stage B’ design.
What you told us
Our response
While greenery is important, the proposed tree grove area will invite anti-social behaviour and potentially become dangerous
Our designers have removed the paved gathering area under the tree grove and replaced it with a garden bed and some short-term parking spots
There is a need to include infrastructure that supports sustainable transport modes, such as cycle parking, e-bikes and scooters
The revised design includes provision for charging e-bikes. The designers are currently working with Auckland Transport to progress this further
Security is a big concern. The area should include CCTV, safe lighting levels and bollards
The proposed tree grove, which was identified as an area of concern, has been removed to improve security. The lighting design incorporates brightness levels that ensure effective use of CCTV and that the area is well lit.
The design should include art around the station and on the utilities building, vent shaft and station entrance
The designers are working with a mana whenua artist on an integrated artistic response in keeping with the mana whenua station design
The retail space should have floor to ground glass and should not compete with locally owned and operated retailers. The space might be best suited for an ‘artist in residence’ or e-bike shop
The use of this space is still undecided, but stakeholder feedback has resulted in the design incorporating floor to ceiling glass
The station access needs to cater for car parking, drop off zones and universal access
The new design has five more car parks than before, which will be short term in nature. The design also caters for universal access from both Pitt Street and Beresford Square (behind the station)
Consideration needs to be given to the drop off area behind the station to ensure access to private property is maintained and to minimise queuing
We have enlarged this area to make it easier for drop off and access to properties
While we received feedback for and against, the majority of respondents supported maintaining public toilets in this area
Maintaining the provision of public toilets is a requirement from Auckland Council and as such there will be two universal access toilets provided
The public realm design should incorporate mana whenua principles while acknowledging the rich history of the community
Our designers are developing the tane mahuta narrative with mana whenua artists
What are the next steps? In March we will start consultation on the Stage B design of the public realm area at both Beresford Square and Mercury Lane. We look forward to your input.
LA0136_22.12.20
The design team are further investigating the use of retractable bollards